US6264315B1 - Ink tank ink jet cartridge and ink filling method - Google Patents

Ink tank ink jet cartridge and ink filling method Download PDF

Info

Publication number
US6264315B1
US6264315B1 US09/059,392 US5939298A US6264315B1 US 6264315 B1 US6264315 B1 US 6264315B1 US 5939298 A US5939298 A US 5939298A US 6264315 B1 US6264315 B1 US 6264315B1
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
ink
receiving portion
absorbing member
bottom wall
ink tank
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Fee Related
Application number
US09/059,392
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Minoru Nozawa
Keiichiro Tsukuda
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Canon Inc
Original Assignee
Canon Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Canon Inc filed Critical Canon Inc
Assigned to CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA reassignment CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: NOZAWA, MINORU, TSUKUDA, KEIICHIRO
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US6264315B1 publication Critical patent/US6264315B1/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Fee Related legal-status Critical Current

Links

Images

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/17—Ink jet characterised by ink handling
    • B41J2/175—Ink supply systems ; Circuit parts therefor
    • B41J2/17503—Ink cartridges
    • B41J2/1752—Mounting within the printer
    • B41J2/17523—Ink connection
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/17—Ink jet characterised by ink handling
    • B41J2/175—Ink supply systems ; Circuit parts therefor
    • B41J2/17503—Ink cartridges
    • B41J2/17506—Refilling of the cartridge
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/17—Ink jet characterised by ink handling
    • B41J2/175—Ink supply systems ; Circuit parts therefor
    • B41J2/17503—Ink cartridges
    • B41J2/17513—Inner structure

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to an ink tank for use in the field of ink jet recording, and an ink jet cartridge made up of the ink tank and an ink jet recording head which are combined into a one-piece structure. More particularly, the present invention relates to an ink tank and an ink jet cartridge in which a negative pressure generating member is used as an ink absorbing member.
  • the present invention also relates to a method of filling ink into the ink tank or the ink jet cartridge.
  • ink used in this specification means a liquid containing, in addition to ink of a type ejected from an ink jet recording head, a printing property improving liquid such as a treatment liquid used for improving permeability of a sheet of recording paper to ink.
  • an ink jet cartridge which is made up of a recording head and an ink tank combined into a one-piece structure and which is detachably mounted onto a recording apparatus, has been employed to render the recording apparatus smaller in size and relatively free from maintenance.
  • Known ink jet cartridges are constructed, for example, by permanently combining a recording head and an ink tank into a one-piece structure, or by separately fabricating a recording head and an ink tank and then combining them into a one-piece structure when used.
  • the ink tank is required to have a mechanism for generating a back pressure (negative pressure) with respect to an ink flow supplied to the recording head so that ink is stably held in the tank and is supplied to the recording head in a stable manner during the recording process.
  • An ink tank for use in the above method generally comprises a receiving portion in which the ink absorbing member for storing ink is placed, an ink supply opening through which the ink is supplied to the ink absorbing member, and an open-air communication port through which air is taken into the receiving portion for allowing the ink to be smoothly supplied during the printing process.
  • one known ink tank of the above-described type is constructed by providing a rib to form a gap between an inner wall surface of the receiving portion and a corresponding surface of the ink absorbing member, and then communicating the gap with open air through an open-air communication port so that an air layer enclosed by the ink does not exist in the receiving portion.
  • the ink absorbing member to be placed in the receiving portion of the ink tank is preferably formed of a member that has been subjected to heat treatment and compression beforehand (referred to as a heat-compressed absorber hereinafter).
  • a depressurizing filling method is generally used to fill the ink. According to this filling method, ink is filled into the heat-compressed absorber by first depressurizing an inner space of the receiving portion of the ink tank which is not yet filled with ink.
  • ink is filled into the inner space of the receiving portion through the ink supply opening, and the ink spreads all over an entire surface of the heat-compressed absorber while maintaining a depressurized state in the receiving portion is maintained. Then, the inner space of the receiving portion is opened to communication with the open air after the injection of the ink is stopped.
  • Some ink tanks for use with ink jet cartridges are designed such that the ink tank is detachably mounted onto a carriage of the recording apparatus and has a narrow width in the scan direction of the carriage, so as to increase an amount of ink that can be stored in a limited space inside the recording apparatus.
  • This type of ink tank therefore has a thin and flat outer configuration in a direction perpendicular to the scan direction of the carriage.
  • walls of a receiving portion of the ink tank which are relatively weak in strength, may be deformed inward or toward a porous body (ink absorbing member) in the receiving portion such that the inner wall surfaces of the receiving portion come into contact with the ink absorbing member.
  • a porous body ink absorbing member
  • those ones 302 W (referred to as maximum area wall surfaces hereinafter) of inner wall surfaces defining receiving portion 302 a in housing 302 , which have a maximum surface area, are apt to deform or warp inward (i.e., in respective directions of arrows X), whereupon 302 a maximum area wall surfaces 302 W of receiving portion 302 a are brought into contact with corresponding surfaces of ink absorbing member 303 over large regions. If ink is injected into the ink tank while the tank is in the above contact state between maximum area wall surfaces 302 W and ink absorbing member 303 , the ink cannot infiltrate to the surfaces of ink absorbing member 303 located within the contact regions.
  • receiving portion 302 a is then released from the depressurized state to be communicated with the open air in the above condition, the ink cannot evenly permeate into the ink absorbing member. In the worst case, the ink jet cartridge may suffer from a trouble in its ability of supplying the ink from the ink tank 301 to a recording head.
  • the inventors also found that, even with a single rib simply provided on each of the maximum area wall surfaces of the receiving portion as practiced in the prior art, the rib was buried in the ink absorbing member, and the contact region between the inner wall surface of the receiving portion and the corresponding surface of the ink absorbing member was not significantly reduced in size.
  • An object of the present invention is to provide an ink tank, an ink jet cartridge, and an ink filling method which can overcome the above-described problems encountered when ink is filled into an ink tank under depressurization.
  • the inventors found that an area of contact between inner wall surfaces of a receiving portion of the ink tank and corresponding surfaces of an ink absorbing member in the receiving portion that occurred when filling ink into the ink tank under depressurization was reduced by providing a projection comprising a set of at least two ribs on, for example, each of those ones of the inner wall surfaces of the receiving portion, which have a maximum surface area, with a narrow spacing between the ribs.
  • the present invention provides an ink tank including a receiving portion having a polyhedral shape and receiving an ink absorbing member to store ink therein, an ink supply opening formed in part of the receiving portion for supplying the ink stored in the ink absorbing member to the outside, and an open-air communication port formed in part of the receiving portion apart from the ink supply opening for making an inner space of the receiving portion open to be communicated with open air, wherein the ink is filled into the ink absorbing member while the inner space of the receiving portion is held under depressurization, and a projection comprising at least two ribs extending over a distance substantially equal to a length of inner wall surfaces of the receiving portion is provided on at least one of the inner wall surfaces of the receiving portion, which has a maximum surface area, substantially at a center thereof.
  • the spacing between the ribs forming the projection is preferably in the range of 0.5 mm to 2.5 mm.
  • the spacing between the ribs forming the projection may be varied in the direction of the length of the ribs.
  • the spacing between the ribs forming the projection may be narrowed in an area of the receiving portion where the ink absorbing member is in a compressed state.
  • the projection may be provided in plural number on at least one of the inner wall surfaces of the receiving portion having a maximum surface area with a spacing of 10 mm or less between two projections adjacent to each other.
  • At least two receiving portions each being the same as the above receiving portion may be combined with each other, and the projection may be provided on each of those ones of inner wall surfaces of the receiving portions which separate an atmospheric pressure space and a depressurized space from each other when the combined receiving portions are depressurized.
  • the present invention also provides an ink jet cartridge comprising an ink tank having any of the features set forth above, and a recording head combined with the ink tank in a detachable manner.
  • the present invention also provides a method of filling ink to an ink tank including a receiving portion for receiving an ink absorbing member to store ink therein, an ink supply opening formed in part of the receiving portion for supplying the ink stored in the ink absorbing member to the outside, an open-air communication port formed in part of the receiving portion apart from the ink supply opening for making an inner space of the receiving portion open to be communicated with open air, and a projection comprising at least two ribs provided on at least one of inner wall surfaces of the receiving portion, which has a maximum surface area, substantially at a center thereof.
  • the method comprises the steps of closing the open-air communication port and then depressurizing the inner space of the receiving portion through the ink supply opening; filling the ink into the inner space of the receiving portion through the ink supply opening while the inner space of the receiving portion is kept in a depressurized state, causing the ink to spread all over an entire surface of the ink absorbing member through at least one gap between the ribs; and closing the ink supply opening and then opening the open-air communication port to communicate the inner space of the receiving portion with the open air, causing the ink to permeate up to an innermost portion of the ink absorbing member from the entire surface thereof.
  • the receiving portion of the ink tank may have a wall surface deforming toward a corresponding surface of the ink absorbing member under depressurization developed in the depressurizing step, and the projection may be provided on the inner side of the wall surface of the receiving portion.
  • FIG. 1 is a sectional view of one embodiment of an ink tank according to the present invention.
  • FIG. 3 is a sectional view for explaining how ink is filled into the ink tank shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
  • FIG. 4 is a sectional view for explaining how ink is filled into the ink tank shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
  • FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line B—B in FIG. 5 .
  • FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a head holder as viewed from above.
  • FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the head holder as viewed from below.
  • FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view of still another embodiment of the ink tank according to the present invention.
  • FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along line D—D in FIG. 10 .
  • FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along line E—E in FIG. 11 .
  • FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a head holder as viewed from above.
  • FIG. 15 is a perspective view, partly broken, showing one example of a recording apparatus onto which the ink tank of the present invention can be mounted.
  • FIG. 16 is a sectional view showing a conventional ink tank in a deformed state under depressurization.
  • FIG. 1 is a sectional view of one embodiment of an ink tank according to the present invention
  • FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line A—A in FIG. 1 .
  • Ink tank 1 mainly comprises substantially rectangular housing 2 with receiving portion 2 a formed therein to receive one kind of ink, ink absorbing member 3 placed in receiving portion 2 a of housing 2 and serving as a negative pressure generating member, ink supply opening 4 formed in part of housing 2 for injecting the ink into receiving portion 2 a and supplying the ink to the outside, and open-air communication port 5 formed in part of housing 2 apart from ink supply opening 4 for making an inner space of receiving portion 2 a open to be communicated with the open air.
  • Ink supply member 6 formed of, e.g., a fibrous body, is plugged in ink supply opening 4 .
  • An ink supply tube (not shown) for supplying the ink to the side of a recording head (described later) is pushed against a lower surface of ink supply member 6 , i.e., a surface of ink supply member 6 which is exposed to the outside through ink supply opening 4 , so that the ink filled into ink absorbing member 3 can be stably supplied to the side of the recording head by capillary action.
  • a plurality of stub walls 7 are projected downward from an upper wall surface of housing 2 defining receiving portion 2 a on the same side as open-air communication port 5 .
  • Stub walls 7 push at their lower ends an upper surface of ink absorbing member 3 to form an inner vacant space in receiving portion 2 a around open-air communication port 5 , the inner vacant space serving to prevent leakage of the ink.
  • each set comprising two ribs 8 a arranged substantially parallel to each other.
  • the spacing between ribs 8 a is determined so as to form a gap, which is able to serve as an ink passage, between maximum area wall surfaces 2 W of receiving portion 2 a and corresponding surfaces of ink absorbing member 3 when ink absorbing member 3 is brought into contact with projections 8 .
  • the gap is set to be in the range of 0.5 mm to 2.5 mm.
  • the spacing between ribs 8 a is not necessarily constant in the direction of length of ribs 8 a , so long as the spacing has a size large enough to form the ink passage as mentioned above. Near a compressed portion of ink absorbing member 3 , the width of ribs 8 a is changed to narrow the spacing therebetween. This narrowing is intended to prevent ribs 8 a from being buried in ink absorbing member 3 in the compressed portion thereof and hence from failing to maintain the ink passage.
  • grip tab 9 preferably is provided on one side surface of housing 2 to be grasped by a user for holding ink tank 1 when ink tank 1 is attached and detached to and from a recording apparatus.
  • a gap serving as the ink passage for allowing the ink to spread all over an entire surface of ink absorbing member 3 can be maintained between maximum area wall surfaces 2 W of receiving portion 2 a and the corresponding surfaces of ink absorbing member 3 .
  • the gap can be maintained even if maximum area wall surfaces 2 W of receiving portion 2 a are deformed inward to such an extent that projections come 8 into contact with the corresponding surfaces of ink absorbing member 3 when receiving portion 2 a is depressurized in the process of filling the ink into ink tank 1 .
  • This maintained gap ensures that the supplied ink spreads all over the entire surface of ink absorbing member 3 under depressurization. Accordingly, when the inner space of receiving portion 2 a is communicated with open air, the ink can be sufficiently permeated into ink absorbing member 3 without leaving air trapped in the receiving portion 2 a.
  • the ink tank thus filled with the ink can supply the ink in a stable manner.
  • ink supply opening 4 is formed in a wall surface of receiving portion 2 a which intersects an extending direction of projection 8 .
  • FIGS. 1 and 2 One example of a manner of filling the ink into an ink tank shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, described below.
  • open-air communication port 5 is closed and the inner space of receiving portion 2 a is evacuated through ink supply opening 4 .
  • the evacuation a considerable amount of air contained in ink absorbing member 3 and ink supply member 6 is purged out.
  • the evacuation is stopped and the inner space of the receiving portion 2 a is kept in a depressurized state.
  • the ink is started to be filled under depressurization through ink supply opening 4 .
  • the ink passages are maintained between maximum area wall surfaces 2 W of receiving portion 2 a and the corresponding surfaces of ink absorbing member 3 .
  • the ink passages are maintained by the presence of projections 8 provided on the inner sides of maximum area wall surfaces 2 W.
  • the ink passages defined by projections 8 serve as points from which the ink starts to permeate into ink absorbing member 3 , not only in the direction of length of ribs 8 a forming projections 8 , but also in a direction crossing the direction of length of ribs 8 a .
  • the ink is permeated to such an extent as shown in FIG. 4, though the interior of ink absorbing member 3 is not yet completely filled with the ink, the filling of the ink is stopped and the inner space of receiving portion 2 a is communicated with the open air. As a result, the ink is forced to fully permeate into an innermost portion of ink absorbing member 3 which has not yet been filled with the ink, thereby completing the filling of the ink tank.
  • the remaining ink may be purged out, if necessary, in a secondary step.
  • FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of another embodiment of an ink tank according to the present invention.
  • FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line B—B in FIG. 5
  • FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line C—C in FIG. 6 . Note that for brevity's sake, some ink tank components in this embodiment common to those in the above embodiment are not described here.
  • An ink tank of this embodiment is constructed by arranging three flat, thin housings, each being the same as the housing used in the above embodiment, and combining them into a one-piece structure.
  • the ink tank of this embodiment is featured in that projections 108 are provided on each of inner surfaces of outer walls 102 W of an outer two among the three housings.
  • the outer walls 102 W of the two housings, on each of which projections 108 are provided, are partition walls separating an atmospheric pressure space and a depressurized space from each other when the ink tank is depressurized for filling of the ink, and are possibly deformed inward of the respective housings.
  • ink passages for allowing the ink to spread all over the entire surface of ink absorbing member 103 can be formed between the inner surfaces of outer walls 102 W and the corresponding surfaces of ink absorbing member 103 .
  • the ink tank of this embodiment comprises three housings combined into a one-piece structure, three kinds of ink can be stored in the three housings independently of one another. To that end, as shown in FIG. 5, ink supply opening 104 , ink supply member 106 so on are provided for each housing.
  • Head holder 114 mainly comprises housing 114 a of size corresponding to the three housings for receiving ink tank 101 , ink inlets 114 b provided on an inner bottom surface of housing 114 a and capable of being inserted into ink supply openings 104 in one-to-one relation, ink supply tubes 114 c disposed in the respective ink inlets 114 b and held in abutment with the lower ends of ink supply members 106 in one-to-one relation, ribs 115 for partitioning housing 114 a into individual inner spaces corresponding the three housings of ink tank 101 in one-to-one relation, and recording head unit 116 provided on an outer bottom surface of housing 114 a and including an electrothermal transducer for generating thermal energy enough to cause film boiling of the ink.
  • Head holder 114 thus constructed constitutes an ink jet cartridge in cooperation with ink tank 101 , shown in FIG. 5, loaded therein, and the ink jet cartridge can be mounted on a recording apparatus described later.
  • FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view of still another embodiment of an ink tank according to the present invention.
  • FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along line D—D in FIG. 10
  • FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along line E—E in FIG. 11 . Note that for brevity's sake, some ink tank components in this embodiment common to those in the above embodiments are not described here.
  • An ink tank of this embodiment is featured in that, based on the ink tank of the above Embodiment 2, partition wall 217 is provided in each housing, as shown in FIG. 11, enabling the ink tank to store a total of six kinds of ink.
  • Partition wall 217 in this embodiment divides an inner space of each housing into small chamber 218 spaced apart from grip tab 209 and large chamber 219 near grip tab 209 .
  • walls defining small chamber 218 have a relatively small surface area and are deformed inward in small amount when the ink tank is depressurized for filling the ink, the inner wall surfaces of small chamber 218 are brought into contact with the corresponding surfaces of ink absorbing member 203 in a relatively small region. Projections 208 are therefore not provided on the inner wall surfaces of small chamber 218 .
  • walls defining large chamber 219 have a relatively large surface area and are deformed inward in large amount when the ink tank is depressurized for injection of the ink, the inner wall surfaces of large chamber 219 are brought into contact with the corresponding surfaces of ink absorbing member 203 in a relatively large region. Projections 208 are therefore provided on the inner wall surfaces of large chamber 219 to ensure ink passage for allowing the ink to spread all over the entire surface of ink absorbing member 203 .
  • each housing may be divided by the partition wall 217 into two chambers equal in size to each other.
  • projections 208 may be provided on each of inner wall surfaces of both the chambers.
  • Ink tank 201 having the construction explained above can be loaded in head holder 214 , for example, shown in FIGS. 13 and 14.
  • Head holder 214 includes ink inlets 214 b and ink supply tubes 214 c corresponding to the number and positions of ink supply openings 204 and ink supply members 206 of ink tank 201 .
  • a total of six kinds of ink in three colors may be filled into the six ink storing chambers in this embodiment such that ink of the same color is filled into one of three small chambers 218 and one of three large chambers 219 adjacent to the one small chamber through partition wall 217 .
  • Ink having normal density i.e., deeper in color
  • the ink having lower density i.e., lighter in color
  • the reason why the deeper-color ink is filled into the small chamber 218 is described below.
  • ink tank 201 of this embodiment When ink tank 201 of this embodiment is loaded in head holder 214 , it is in such a state that small chamber 218 is located on the lower side and large chamber 219 is located on the upper side. If the ink should leak, the effect upon recording caused when the lighter-color ink in large chamber 219 is mixed with the deeper-color ink in small chamber 218 is smaller than that caused in the case opposite to the above.
  • FIG. 15 is a schematic perspective view, partly broken, showing a recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.
  • denoted by 20 is an ink jet cartridge that is the same as one of those described above and that comprises an ink tank portion on the upper side, a head holder provided with a recording head on the lower side, and a connector (not shown) for receiving, e.g., a signal to drive the recording head.
  • Denoted by 21 is a carriage on which two ink jet cartridges 20 are mounted while being properly positioned, and which has a connector holder for transmitting, e.g., the signal to drive the recording head. Carriage 21 is electrically connected to the recording head through the connector holder.
  • Two ink jet cartridges 20 used in this embodiment preferably comprise a right cartridge having an ink tank storing six kinds of ink, including both deeper-color and lighter-color yellow, magenta and cyan, and a left cartridge having an ink tank storing black ink and a printing property improving liquid.
  • Denoted by 22 is a scan rail extending in the direction of main scan of carriage 21
  • denoted by 23 is a driving belt for transmitting driving forces to move carriage 21 in a reciprocal manner.
  • Denoted by 24 , 25 ; 26 , 27 are pairs of feed rollers disposed rearward and forward of the recording position of the recording head, respectively, for feeding a recording medium while nipping it between the paired rollers, and denoted by 28 is a recording medium, e.g., a sheet of paper, held in pressure contact with a platen (not shown) for keeping flat a surface of the recording medium on which printing is to be made.
  • a recording medium e.g., a sheet of paper
  • the recording head unit of ink jet cartridge 20 is projected downward from carriage 21 to a position between the pair of recording medium feed rollers 24 and 25 , and an ejection port forming surface of the recording head unit is positioned parallel to recording medium 28 held in pressure contact with a guide surface of the platen (not shown).
  • a projection comprising at least two ribs arranged with a small spacing therebetween are provided on each of inner walls surfaces of an ink tank which are apt to easily deform when ink is filled into the ink tank.
  • ink passages for allowing the ink to spread all over an entire surface of an ink absorbing member are formed between the inner wall surfaces of the ink tank and corresponding surfaces of the ink absorbing member. The presence of the ink passages enables the ink to fully permeate into an innermost portion of the ink absorbing member.
  • the ink tank or the ink jet cartridge thus sufficiently filled with the ink can supply the ink to a recording head in a stable manner when mounted onto a recording apparatus.
US09/059,392 1997-04-28 1998-04-14 Ink tank ink jet cartridge and ink filling method Expired - Fee Related US6264315B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP11114297A JP3332795B2 (ja) 1997-04-28 1997-04-28 インクタンクおよびインクジェットカートリッジ
JP9-111142 1997-04-28

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US6264315B1 true US6264315B1 (en) 2001-07-24

Family

ID=14553531

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US09/059,392 Expired - Fee Related US6264315B1 (en) 1997-04-28 1998-04-14 Ink tank ink jet cartridge and ink filling method

Country Status (5)

Country Link
US (1) US6264315B1 (de)
EP (1) EP0875383B1 (de)
JP (1) JP3332795B2 (de)
DE (1) DE69802225T2 (de)
ES (1) ES2162363T3 (de)

Cited By (12)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20060092213A1 (en) * 2004-10-28 2006-05-04 Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Apparatus and method for maintaining recording head
US20060132561A1 (en) * 2004-12-20 2006-06-22 Lexmark International, Inc. Wick for an inkjet printhead
US20060284944A1 (en) * 2004-04-19 2006-12-21 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Ink container, inkjet printing head, and inkjet printing apparatus
US20080043054A1 (en) * 2004-01-21 2008-02-21 Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd Printer Print Engine With Cradled Cartridge Unit
US20080204527A1 (en) * 2007-02-28 2008-08-28 Kenneth Yuen Ink cartridge
US8079683B2 (en) 2004-01-21 2011-12-20 Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd Inkjet printer cradle with shaped recess for receiving a printer cartridge
US9738081B2 (en) 2015-10-30 2017-08-22 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Printing apparatus and liquid storage member
US9962945B2 (en) 2015-10-30 2018-05-08 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Liquid ejecting device, head, and liquid filling method
US9981478B2 (en) 2015-10-30 2018-05-29 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Liquid ejecting device and head with flexible member for supplying liquid from a main tank
US9981477B2 (en) 2015-10-30 2018-05-29 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Liquid ejecting device and head
US11192381B2 (en) 2019-03-15 2021-12-07 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Liquid ejection apparatus and liquid filling method
US11433677B2 (en) 2019-12-03 2022-09-06 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Liquid storage device and liquid filling method

Families Citing this family (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP3437491B2 (ja) 1998-06-30 2003-08-18 キヤノン株式会社 インク注入方法、それが用いられるインク注入装置、および、それを備えるインクジェット記録装置
JP4579446B2 (ja) * 2001-05-10 2010-11-10 キヤノン株式会社 液体収納容器
US20070285475A1 (en) * 2006-04-24 2007-12-13 Freire E Mariano Inkjet cartridge refilling machine with improved refill process
JP6028424B2 (ja) * 2012-07-06 2016-11-16 セイコーエプソン株式会社 印刷材供給システムおよびそのカートリッジ
JP6028425B2 (ja) * 2012-07-06 2016-11-16 セイコーエプソン株式会社 カートリッジおよび印刷装置

Citations (13)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0278764A2 (de) * 1987-02-11 1988-08-17 Robbins, Edward S., III Behälter mit Rippen
US4896172A (en) 1987-11-20 1990-01-23 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Liquid injection recording apparatus including recording liquid circulation control
US4908636A (en) 1987-03-31 1990-03-13 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Recovery device having a protruding portion providing reduced pressure for improved recovery and method using same
US4977413A (en) 1987-04-15 1990-12-11 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Ink remain detector having a flexible member and a liquid injection recording apparatus utilizing the detector
US5128690A (en) 1989-01-11 1992-07-07 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Recovery unit and method that expel foreign matter into a common liquid chamber of an ink jet head using a partial cap
JPH0523954A (ja) 1991-07-17 1993-02-02 Nissan Motor Co Ltd 搬送装置
JPH0839820A (ja) 1994-07-28 1996-02-13 Canon Inc インクタンク
US5523780A (en) 1992-06-24 1996-06-04 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Ink jet recording apparatus and ink cartridge mountable on said apparatus
US5589862A (en) * 1992-07-31 1996-12-31 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Liquid storing container for recording apparatus
US5619239A (en) 1993-11-29 1997-04-08 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Replaceable ink tank
US5682189A (en) * 1993-03-09 1997-10-28 Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. Ink supply device for an ink jet recording apparatus
US5790157A (en) * 1993-08-31 1998-08-04 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Ink filling method and apparatus for ink cartridge
US6102533A (en) * 1996-08-30 2000-08-15 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Ink container, ink container holder for removably holding ink container, and ink container cap

Patent Citations (13)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0278764A2 (de) * 1987-02-11 1988-08-17 Robbins, Edward S., III Behälter mit Rippen
US4908636A (en) 1987-03-31 1990-03-13 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Recovery device having a protruding portion providing reduced pressure for improved recovery and method using same
US4977413A (en) 1987-04-15 1990-12-11 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Ink remain detector having a flexible member and a liquid injection recording apparatus utilizing the detector
US4896172A (en) 1987-11-20 1990-01-23 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Liquid injection recording apparatus including recording liquid circulation control
US5128690A (en) 1989-01-11 1992-07-07 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Recovery unit and method that expel foreign matter into a common liquid chamber of an ink jet head using a partial cap
JPH0523954A (ja) 1991-07-17 1993-02-02 Nissan Motor Co Ltd 搬送装置
US5523780A (en) 1992-06-24 1996-06-04 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Ink jet recording apparatus and ink cartridge mountable on said apparatus
US5589862A (en) * 1992-07-31 1996-12-31 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Liquid storing container for recording apparatus
US5682189A (en) * 1993-03-09 1997-10-28 Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. Ink supply device for an ink jet recording apparatus
US5790157A (en) * 1993-08-31 1998-08-04 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Ink filling method and apparatus for ink cartridge
US5619239A (en) 1993-11-29 1997-04-08 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Replaceable ink tank
JPH0839820A (ja) 1994-07-28 1996-02-13 Canon Inc インクタンク
US6102533A (en) * 1996-08-30 2000-08-15 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Ink container, ink container holder for removably holding ink container, and ink container cap

Cited By (22)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US8439497B2 (en) 2004-01-21 2013-05-14 Zamtec Ltd Image processing apparatus with nested printer and scanner
US8235502B2 (en) 2004-01-21 2012-08-07 Zamtec Limited Printer print engine with cradled cartridge unit
US8079683B2 (en) 2004-01-21 2011-12-20 Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd Inkjet printer cradle with shaped recess for receiving a printer cartridge
US20080043054A1 (en) * 2004-01-21 2008-02-21 Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd Printer Print Engine With Cradled Cartridge Unit
US7748828B2 (en) * 2004-01-21 2010-07-06 Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd Printer print engine with cradled cartridge unit
US20060284944A1 (en) * 2004-04-19 2006-12-21 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Ink container, inkjet printing head, and inkjet printing apparatus
US7425059B2 (en) * 2004-04-19 2008-09-16 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Ink container, inkjet printing head, and inkjet printing apparatus
US7712864B2 (en) * 2004-10-28 2010-05-11 Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Apparatus and method for maintaining recording head
US20060092213A1 (en) * 2004-10-28 2006-05-04 Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Apparatus and method for maintaining recording head
US7182447B2 (en) * 2004-12-20 2007-02-27 Lexmark International, Inc. Wick for an inkjet printhead
WO2006069145A3 (en) * 2004-12-20 2006-12-07 Lexmark Int Inc Wick for an inkjet printhead
WO2006069145A2 (en) * 2004-12-20 2006-06-29 Lexmark International, Inc. Wick for an inkjet printhead
US20060132561A1 (en) * 2004-12-20 2006-06-22 Lexmark International, Inc. Wick for an inkjet printhead
US20080204527A1 (en) * 2007-02-28 2008-08-28 Kenneth Yuen Ink cartridge
US9738081B2 (en) 2015-10-30 2017-08-22 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Printing apparatus and liquid storage member
US9962945B2 (en) 2015-10-30 2018-05-08 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Liquid ejecting device, head, and liquid filling method
US9981478B2 (en) 2015-10-30 2018-05-29 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Liquid ejecting device and head with flexible member for supplying liquid from a main tank
US9981477B2 (en) 2015-10-30 2018-05-29 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Liquid ejecting device and head
US10118396B2 (en) 2015-10-30 2018-11-06 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Printing apparatus and liquid storage member
USRE49336E1 (en) 2015-10-30 2022-12-20 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Printing apparatus and liquid storage member
US11192381B2 (en) 2019-03-15 2021-12-07 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Liquid ejection apparatus and liquid filling method
US11433677B2 (en) 2019-12-03 2022-09-06 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Liquid storage device and liquid filling method

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP0875383A1 (de) 1998-11-04
JP3332795B2 (ja) 2002-10-07
ES2162363T3 (es) 2001-12-16
DE69802225D1 (de) 2001-12-06
EP0875383B1 (de) 2001-10-31
DE69802225T2 (de) 2002-06-27
JPH10296991A (ja) 1998-11-10

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US6264315B1 (en) Ink tank ink jet cartridge and ink filling method
US6145974A (en) Ink-supplied printer head and ink container
US6042225A (en) Ink-jet pen with one-piece pen body
US5182581A (en) Ink jet recording unit having an ink tank section containing porous material and a recording head section
US6203148B1 (en) Liquid container for an ink jet recording apparatus
EP0846561A2 (de) Verfahren zum Füllen einer Patrone mit einer Flüssigkeit und entsprechendes System dafür
US7425059B2 (en) Ink container, inkjet printing head, and inkjet printing apparatus
JPH10157156A (ja) インクジェット印字カートリッジ用流体アダプタ
JP2006272901A (ja) インクタンク及びインクジェット記録装置並びにインクタンクの製造方法
JP2006199037A (ja) 交換式インク供給源
EP0709211B1 (de) Tintenbehälter mit ungefähr gleichgrossem porösen Körper
EP1077131A1 (de) Tintenbehälter für einen Tintenstrahlkopf
US9033476B2 (en) Protective cap
JP3967287B2 (ja) インクカートリッジ
JP3564895B2 (ja) インクタンクおよびインクジェット記録装置
EP0770489B1 (de) Tintenzurückhaltungsvorrichtung für Tintenstrahlschreiber
US20060146105A1 (en) Liquid container and liquid ejecting cartridge
JPH0768776A (ja) インクカートリッジおよびインクジェット記録ヘッドとそのインクジェット記録装置
EP0709209B1 (de) Tintenbehälter mit Schutzblatt für porösen Körper
JP2005329709A (ja) インク容器、インクジェット記録ヘッド、およびインクジェット記録装置
JP4608730B2 (ja) インクジェットプリンタ及びそのヘッドカートリッジ
JP2000334973A (ja) インクジェット記録装置及びそのインクタンク及びインクカートリッジ
KR100503082B1 (ko) 잉크젯 프린터용 잉크 카트리지
JPH11320906A (ja) インク供給容器
JPH08300677A (ja) インクジェット記録装置

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
AS Assignment

Owner name: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA, JAPAN

Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:NOZAWA, MINORU;TSUKUDA, KEIICHIRO;REEL/FRAME:009117/0019

Effective date: 19980406

CC Certificate of correction
FEPP Fee payment procedure

Free format text: PAYOR NUMBER ASSIGNED (ORIGINAL EVENT CODE: ASPN); ENTITY STATUS OF PATENT OWNER: LARGE ENTITY

FPAY Fee payment

Year of fee payment: 4

FPAY Fee payment

Year of fee payment: 8

REMI Maintenance fee reminder mailed
LAPS Lapse for failure to pay maintenance fees
STCH Information on status: patent discontinuation

Free format text: PATENT EXPIRED DUE TO NONPAYMENT OF MAINTENANCE FEES UNDER 37 CFR 1.362

FP Lapsed due to failure to pay maintenance fee

Effective date: 20130724